Easy Overnight Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

These easy overnight caramel pecan cinnamon rolls start with frozen bread dough! No yeast or rising to worry about. Simply prepare the cinnamon rolls the night before and bake up delicious, gooey, caramel pecan cinnamon rolls for a special breakfast treat.

If you want creamy, gooey, overnight cinnamon rolls with pecans and caramel and the easiest no yeast dough ever, then these are sure to be a favorite.

My family loves cinnamon rolls but I don’t enjoy waking up extra early to make them and let the dough rise twice. Which is why these caramel pecan cinnamon rolls are our favorite.

The recipe calls for frozen bread dough. How easy is that?

How to make cinnamon rolls with no yeast

You start off with loaves of frozen bread dough. You will want to make sure that you take it out of the freezer the morning you are making them, so that the frozen bread has time to thaw. I always take it out of the freezer the morning of, place it inside a loaf pan and let it sit in the fridge all day to thaw. By the time I make it that night, the dough is thawed and ready to use.

Just like traditional cinnamon rolls you will roll out the dough into a large rectangle shape. It might be hard at first, but as the dough comes to room temperature it will be easier to roll out. I would suggest placing the dough on the counter for about 10 minutes before rolling it out.

I love no yeast cinnamon roll recipes because it takes all the guess work out of cinnamon rolls.

The creamy caramel part comes from the heavy cream + powdered sugar mixture you spread into the bottom of the pan. Then place the cut cinnamon rolls on top of that.

It’s kind of an upside down version of cinnamon rolls. The topping is on the bottom. When it’s done baking you will flip the pan over to reveal ooey, gooey and super delicious caramel pecan cinnamon rolls.

Tips for making overnight cinnamon rolls

Don’t be alarmed if the top looks really dry when you take it out of the oven. That is normal. Once you flip it over you’ll see the nice creamy topping.

To flip it over once it’s done baking: take a cutting board and lay it on top of the baking dish. Hold the cutting board and the baking dish (you may have to use a hot pad) and turn the baking dish upside down so it’s on top of the cutting board. Put it on the counter and pull up the baking dish to reveal the cinnamon rolls.

I have never made the recipe any different than what it calls for. I know some people have asked about substitutions for the heavy cream. There really are none. Any other lower fat milk won’t produce such a creamy texture.

Be sure and place the frozen bread dough loaves in the fridge the morning of so they will thaw in time to make them that evening. I place each loaf into a bread pan and cover it with saran wrap. I always spray the side of the saran wrap that touches the bread. That way there is sure to be no sticking.

Easy overnight caramel pecan cinnamon rolls are so simple to make the night before and then bake up in the morning. Starts with frozen bread dough. Loaded with pecans and a gooey, creamy caramel topping.

Course:
Breakfast

Cuisine:
American

Servings: 16cinnamon rolls

Calories: 285kcal

Ingredients

1 1/4cupspowdered sugar

1/3cupheavy whipping cream

1cuppecanscoarsely chopped

1/2cupbrown sugar

1tablespooncinnamon

2frozen white bread dough loavesthawed [I use the Rhodes brand]

3tablespoonsbuttermelted

Instructions

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream. Pour into the pan. The mixture will be thick so you may have to use a spatula to spread evenly in the pan.

Sprinkle pecans over top of the milk/sugar mixture.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl, set aside.

On a surface, sprayed with cooking spray & lightly floured, roll out 1 loaf into a rectangle [roughly the same size as the 9x13 pan]. Pour half of the butter onto the dough and spread it out. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the butter.

Roll up the dough [roll up from the longer side of the rectangle shape, not the shorter sides] and cut dough roll into 8 pieces. Place each piece in the pan on top of the pecans. Do 4 rows of 4 cinnamon rolls in each row.

Repeat with the 2nd loaf of bread.

Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray [the part of the plastic wrap that touches the rolls].

Leave in fridge overnight. In the morning, let sit out covered at room temperature for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

After baking let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.

Carefully take your pan and turn it upside down, over a serving platter or cutting board. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

To thaw the frozen bread dough place the dough loaf in the fridge (on a plate and covered) for several hours. I put mine in the fridge to thaw the morning of and then I make the rolls the same night and leave in the fridge so they're ready to bake the next morning. If you're unsure about thawing then follow the directions that are on the package. When you are ready to roll out your dough it helps if you let the dough rest and get a little warmer before you roll it out. Aim to roll the dough as big as your 9x13 pan.

Together As Family

Together As Family

November 18, 2017 at 10:48 am
It's not a true caramel but as it cooks it turns into this caramel color and becomes thick and sticky, and sweet. So it is like caramel but if you're comparing ingredients then no it's not a true caramel without the brown sugar. I hope you enjoy this if you decide to try it.

Lisa

December 18, 2017 at 5:08 pm
I tried this recipe this weekend and was disappointed to say the least. The recipe should include brown sugar, instead of powdered, because without it you do not get the sticky carmelization like in the photo. I even baked mine for extra time, and still no brown, sticky layer. The bottom of my rolls were very raw, even after 45 min in the oven! I ended up making a caramel glaze with brown sugar, pouring over the top, then broiling for a few min. just to get the glaze without overcooking my rolls.

Together As Family

December 19, 2017 at 12:43 pm
Oh no! I am so sorry these disappointed you. I literally just made these the other day for family that is in town for Christmas. I honestly have no idea why they would not have cooked for you.....as far as the carmelization that the picture shows, that is what mine always look like using the recipe as written. Again, so sorry! Thank you for coming back to leave your feedback :)

Karen Risbrudt

Erica

December 22, 2017 at 7:11 pm
Doubled the topping in pan, and used dark brown sugar instead of powdered sugar. So 2/3 heavy whipping cream, about 1-1.5 cups brown sugar, and 2 cups of chooped pecans. Rolls were tricky rolling out, they didn't want to change shape... lol. So they look more like mini cinnamon rolls right now. Baking for holiday family brunch in the morning. Camt wait to try them! Would post pix if I knew how..... tech dumb

Kim

Together As Family

December 25, 2017 at 10:45 pm
Oh darn. Yea, the bake time can vary. I always cover mine loosely with foil on he last 5-10 minutes so that way the rolls cook but the top does not brown. So glad you liked them. I made them for Christmas too ☺️

Tara

Together As Family

December 30, 2017 at 12:04 pm
So glad to hear! We just had family here and I made them too..... I only got one so I think I need to make them again, haha :) Thanks for coming back to let me know. Enjoy!

Karen Risbrudt

Together As Family

January 14, 2018 at 12:07 pm
That's a good question. I've never tried baking them right away. As the rolls sit in the fridge overnight they rise so I would guess that's the reason you need to keep them in the fridge overnight.

Jill

February 21, 2018 at 12:56 pm
Looks so yummy! And easy! If I were to bake these and save them, serving as a dessert item, would they be ok sitting out on the counter for a few hours or would they need to be refrigerated?

Benny

Together As Family

May 6, 2018 at 7:56 pm
I always put it in the fridge. I probably would not leave it out on the counter because it has heavy cream in it. When you take it out of the fridge, you let it sit at room temperature for a but for it to rise. I've never made it any other way than the recipe listed so I just can't say for sure.

Sarah

Together As Family

September 14, 2018 at 4:46 pm
I have never tried freezing these so I can't say for sure. I would imagine they would freeze ok but then again sometimes dairy does not freeze well (from my experience) and the rolls have the heavy cream for the caramel base. This recipe is an overnight recipe so all you have to do is set them out in the morning for 1 hour before baking and then cook. There is no prep work or cooking time needed the morning you want these. Let me know if you have more questions and I hope that helps.

Together As Family

Meg Rickman

January 30, 2019 at 2:26 pm
Worked great with some leftover bread dough. Used a pie pan as it was not a huge amount of dough, but it was amazing to watch the video to get a visual on how the whipped cream and powdered sugar looked. Sprinkled with some pecans and rolled the dough up and sure enough, after leaving alone for 5 min after they were done, delicious gooey pecan rolls. still good at RT after 5 hours.
I will do this after i make my own dough and enjoy another batch on a snowy day.

Welcome

Hello! I'm Jessica and I am always in my kitchen cooking & baking for my family and friends. My happy place is sitting, Together as Family, at the dinner table over a delicious meal and spending time together. Join me as I share easy and simple family favorite recipes.